The appointment marks a change in marketing tactics for the company, which has previously relied on direct response activity. The agency's first task is to increase the retailer's customer base and, although the work will be based around direct response activity, the agency will look at other media to help it meet its objectives.
Mediaedge:cia UK managing director James Whitmore said: "We will be working to augment [Healthspan's] core direct response activity. In a market where competition is becoming increasingly intense, we must consider other channels and strategies to meet our objectives."
The vitamins and mineral market in the UK is worth £450m annually. Healthspan is the largest mail order retailer of vitamins and minerals in the UK with more than 1m customers.
"Growing as fast as we have to become the number one brand in the UK market has been a great achievement, but maintaining that growth when you have reached our size is more difficult," Derek Coates, founder and managing director of Healthspan, said.
Details of other agencies involved in the pitch were not available. The incumbent on the account was Media Vision.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
